Game Times (Mountain):
(G1) Friday - 3 p.m.
(G2) Saturday - 1 p.m.
(G3) Saturday - 4 p.m.
(G4) Sunday - 12 noon
Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | MSUD
Audio/Video: LIVE VIDEO HERE
Live Stats: at MSUD
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @Dixie_Baseball | #DixieBlazers | #RMACbase | #D2Baseball
 
PROBABLE STARTERS:
Friday (G1) – RHP Jayden Murray (7-2, 2.91 ERA) vs. RHP Austin Stone (5-2, 4.00 ERA)
Saturday (G2) – RHP Brayden Bonner (2-0, 2.70 ERA) vs. LHP Logan Soole (5-2, 2.27 ERA)
Saturday (G3) – LHP Jack Gonzales (5-1, 5.73 ERA) vs. RHP T.J. Egloff (1-1, 2.73 ERA)
Sunday (G4) – RHP Preston Hannay (3-3, 8.10 ERA) vs. RHP Branden Dehority (2-0, 4.46 ERA)

FIRST PITCH: Dixie State (23-11/13-7 RMAC) wraps up its eight-game RMAC road swing this weekend as the Trailblazers head to the "Mile High City" for a four-game series at RMAC leader MSU Denver (23-9/16-4 RMAC). The series opener will be played on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 1 p.m., and Sunday's finale will take place at 12 noon, at the MSUD Regency Athletic Complex (2,000).

ALL-TIME SERIES: This weekend's series at MSU Denver will mark the first time that the Trailblazers and Roadrunners have squared off on the diamond.

LAST TIME OUT: The Trailblazers suffered their first series loss of the RMAC season in dropping three of four at Colorado School of Mines last weekend in Golden. The series got off to a solid start for Dixie State with an 11-7 win in the series opener last Friday, but the Blazers were swept in a Saturday twin bill (8-13 and 4-8) before falling in the Sunday finale, 12-6.

COACHING STAFF: Two-time Pacific West Conference Coach of the Year Chris Pfatenhauer is in his seventh season as head coach of the Dixie State Baseball program. Since his arrival in summer of 2012, Pfatenhauer has never had a losing season at Dixie State, and in the process, led the Trailblazers to consecutive PacWest titles in 2014 and 2015, and to five-straight trips to the NCAA West Regionals from 2013-17, including serving as the host institution in 2013.
    Pfatenhauer, who picked up his 200th victory as DSU skipper in the series opener at Concordia-Irvine (8-1; 4/26/18) last season, owns a 227-117-1 (.659) overall record at DSU, and a 279-176-1 (.613) career mark.
    Joining Pfatenhauer (UNLV, 2000) in the Trailblazer dugout this season is first-year pitching coach Joe Haumacher (Old Dominion, 2011), along with fifth-year assistant coaches Matt Hill (Dixie State 2015), and Bobby Rinard (Arizona, 2014), and first-year assistant coaches Trevor Amicone (Weber State, 2012) and former DSU infielder Tyler Mildenberg (Dixie State, 2018). 

DSU IN THE POLLS: Dixie State did not receive any votes this week in either the NCBWA Top-25 and Collegiate Baseball Newspaper national polls. The Trailblazers also fell three spots to No. 8 in this week's NCBWA South Central Regional rankings.

HI, MY NAME IS ....: After 11 years as a member of the Pacific West Conference, Dixie State embarks on its first season as full members of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference in 2019.
    The Trailblazers won four PacWest baseball titles (2009, 2011, 2014, 2015) over their conference membership and posted a 227-112-1 overall record (.669) in 340 league games. Dixie State also made six-straight NCAA West Regional appearances (2012-17) during its run in the PacWest.

TRAILBLAZERS VOTED THIRD IN RMAC PRESEASON POLL: Dixie State was picked to finish third in the 2019 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference baseball preseason coaches' poll released back on Jan. 24. Despite being picked third in the poll, DSU did not land any players on the preseason all-RMAC team.
    Defending RMAC regular season and tournament champion Colorado Mesa collected eight of a possible 10 first place votes to claim the top spot in the poll with 80 points, while 2018 conference runner-up Colorado School of Mines tallied 69 points to finish second. Dixie State picked up the other two first place votes and 64 total points to secure the third spot, and Colorado State-Pueblo and MSU Denver each finished with 49 points to tie for fourth to round out the top-half of the 10-team poll.

HOME SWEET HOME: Dixie State has played to a 255-97 (.724) overall record inside the friendly confines of Bruce Hurst Field since becoming an NCAA Division II program in 2006-07, including a 14-6 start this season. In addition, DSU has posted a winning record at home in all 12 seasons of NCAA play, which included a 17-9 home mark last season.
    Dixie State has won 20 or more games in seven of those 12 seasons, including 21-5 (.807) record in 2017, and a 24-6 mark (.800) in 2016, which was the second-best home record in terms of wins in the program's NCAA Division II era (26-7 in 2009). The 24 home wins that year were the most under Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer, while the .807 winning percentage in 2017 was the best during the Pfatenhauer era.
    In PacWest play, DSU was 126-44 (.741) all-time at Bruce Hurst Field and won 10 or more games in each of those 10 seasons, including 13 league wins last year and 14 victories in both the 2016 and 2017 seasons.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN: Despite dropping three of four at Mines last weekend, Dixie State has held its own away from home as the Trailblazers own a 143-125-1 overall road record (.533) through 12-plus years of D-II competition, which includes an 8-5 start this season, and a winning road record in seven of their last eight seasons overall, highlighted by a 16-7-1 road mark in 2017. The 16 road wins were the most in program history since its move to NCAA play in 2007.
    In 2015, DSU went a program-best 15-5 on the road (.750), and DSU has won at least 10 road games in eight of it last nine seasons overall. When you also figure in neutral-site games (10-10 in 20 games), Dixie State is 153-135-1 (.531) all-time away from Bruce Hurst Field in the program's NCAA era.
    In PacWest play, Dixie State was 99-65-1 (.603) in true road games and 0-1 in one neutral-site game vs. Hawai'i Hilo during the 2013 season, which was played in Riverside, Calif., (at California Baptist) as a make-up game due to a rain out on the Islands earlier that season.

JUST WIN BABY: Dixie State's 25-25 record last season marked the end of an impressive streak that saw DSU win 30 or more games in nine-straight seasons. In fact, DSU had won 35 of more games in four of those campaigns, including three of the last four years under Head Coach Chris Pfatenhauer, highlighted by 39 wins in 2017 and a four-year program record 40 victories (40-14) in 2016, The 2016 campaign also included a record-breaking 10-0 start to begin the season, which was the best overall start in the program's NCAA-era.

HERE'S TO THE NEXT 400: Dixie State picked up its 400th win in the program's NCAA era in the series opener vs. UCCS on March 16. DSU is 407-229-1 (.639) all-time through 12-plus years of NCAA Division II competition (637 games).

WHAT THE BLANK: Dixie State made a little history in its season-opening win at Cal State San Bernardino (2/1) as the Trailblazers posted their first-ever "Opening Day" shutout in the 11-0 triumph.
     In fact, if you figure in the near no-no against Saint Martin's (W, 4-1) later in the day, the Trailblazer pitching staff opened the 2019 season with 16.2 innings of shutout baseball and surrendered just four total hits and one run in the two games.

WALK IT OFF: The Trailblazers collected their first walk-off win of the year in the series finale vs. Montana State Billings (2/24). Last season, Dixie State posted a school-record eight walk-off wins, including three last at-bat triumphs over California Baptist to close the 2018 campaign in the final PacWest series for both teams, the last of which also came on a walk-off home run.

FREE BASEBALL: Dixie State played in four extra inning games last season and posted a 3-1 record. Dating back to the 2016 season, the Trailblazers have won five of their last six extra inning games overall, and are 31-14 (.682) in 45 total extra-inning games in the program's four-year era.

THE X(BH)-MEN: Dixie State pounded out 39 extra base hits (out of the 68 total base hits) in the series sweep at Adams State in its RMAC debut last month, which included school records for doubles (9), home runs (7), XHB (17), along with total hits (28), in the series finale. DSU wound up with 22 doubles and five triples, and posted an .866 SLG%, in the four game set.
    The Trailblazers followed that up with 16 XBH vs. UCCS (3/16-18), and 22 more XBH at NMHU, which included 15 doubles and six home runs. Dixie State also collected 13 XBH vs. CSUP (3/29-31) with nine doubles, one triple and three HRs, and 13 more XBH (13 doubles, two HR) last weekend at Mines.

ENGEL NAMED TO D2BASEBALL TEAM OF THE MONTH: Junior 1B/OF Jake Engel was named to the D2Baseball Team of the Month for March on Monday. Engel was one of two RMAC players represented on the 11-player list (MSUD catcher Matt Malkin).
    The junior batted .407 in 18 games last month with eight home runs, 26 RBI, 27 runs scored and three stolen bases. Engel pounded out 12 XBH (.526 SLG%), including homering in three-straight games (G 3/4 at NMHU and G1 vs. CSUP) and drew 15 of his team-high 26 walks (.915 OB%), which culminated with him being named RMAC Player of the Week after the CSU-Pueblo series (3/29-31).  
    Engel batted .545 (6-for-11) in four starts vs. CSUP with one double, team-highs of two home runs, six walks and 11 RBI, and seven runs scored in the Trailblazers' series split. He reached base safely and had at least two RBI and one run scored in all four games, highlighted by a career-high five RBI day with a double and his team-leading 12th home run of the season in the series finale. Engel pounded out a career-high four hits in that final game, going 4-for-5 overall with two runs scored.
    The junior has opened the 2019 season on a tear, hitting safely in 28 of his first 36 games on his way to a .414 average (No. 7  in RMAC) with team-highs of 12 home runs and 37 RBI (No. 3 in RMAC), along with a co-team best three triples. Engel has hit safely in 17 of 20 RMAC games, including a .438 clip (7-for-16) last weekend at Mines with his second-career four-hit game in G3, and is batting .439 against conference foes (29-for-66) overall with two triples, seven HRs and 28 RBI.
    Engel (.414/12 HR/40 RBI), who came into the 2019 season with two career HRs, has already collected 22 XBH through 34 games (7 2B/3 3B/12 HR), and he is in the top-four in the RMAC in average (4th), runs scored (4th), triples (T-4th), homers (4th), RBI (2nd), SLG% (2nd) and OB% (2nd).

FISHER LANDS DSU'S FIRST CYCLE: Freshman 3B Tyson Fisher (.405/5 HR/24 RBI) became the first Trailblazers in the program's NCAA era to hit for the cycle in the series finale at NMHU on March 24. Fisher pounded out a career-high five hits (5-for-5) in the game to go with career-highs of five RBI and four runs scored.
    Overall, Fisher hit a team-best .625 (10-for-16) in the NMHU series with six XBH, seven RBI and eight runs scored. In fact, he has legged out 20 XBH in 20 RMAC games (13 2B/3 3B/4 HR), including his sixth HR of the year in G3 vs. CSUP (3/30), and had pounded out four doubles at Mines, while batting .460 (35-for-76) in league play, and he currently leads the team in batting at .419 (No. 3 in RMAC) and XBH (23 - 14 2B/3 3B/6 HR) to go with 32 RBI.

IT'S UP THERE, IT'S OUT THERE, IT'S GONE!!: We are 34 games into the 2019 regular season and Dixie State has already eclipsed last season's home run total (24 in 50 games) with 40 long balls (No. 5 all-time on single season list) to this point of the year, with 11 of those homers coming over the last 12 games and 29 total HRs through 20 RMAC games overall.
     Junior OF Lane Pritchard accounted for both DSU homers last weekend at Mines, while his first HR of the year came on the back end of a back-to-back with Engel in the finale at NMHU (7th inning; 3/24), which marked the second time this season that DSU achieved that feat. In the series finale vs. UCCS (3/18), junior Cade Spurlin and Engel led off the sixth with consecutive HRs, which was the first time since the 2016 season that DSU had hit back-to-back homers in an inning (Jake Davison/Tyler Mildenberg vs. Hawai'i Pacific, 4/23/16).
    The Trailblazers hit 12 home runs at Adams State in their RMAC debut last month, with eight different Trailblazers hit at least one HR in the series, highlighted by a school record four-homer game from senior OF Brody Clifford in the series finale (3/10), which included two solo HRs, a three-run shot and a grand slam en route to a school record-tying nine RBI.
    The first of Clifford's record four home runs was a lead-off shot on the second pitch of the game, which marked first time since the 2016 season that a Trailblazer led off a game with a HR (Tanner Morache at Point Loma; 4/8/16).
    In addition, Jake Brown, Clifford and Braxton Ipson all homered in the fifth inning in that series finale, which marked just the third time in the program's NCAA era that DSU had three players homer in one inning. In 2007, Jesse Stone, Kyle Pratt and Jordan Daley all homered in the first inning in a win over Northwest Nazarene (3/20/07), while Jordan Hanley, Jimmy Dever and Alex Rosenhan achieved the feat in the ninth inning vs. Lewis-Clark State (5/2/09) two seasons later.  
    Of note, DSU's NCAA-era record for homers in a season is 68 set in 2009.

ONE FOR THE RECORD BOOKS: In all, the Trailblazers combined to break or tie a total of 16 single-game records in the finale at Adams State (3/10), including new team records for HR (7), RBI (27), at-bats (52) and total bases (60). In addition, DSU's 28 runs scored and its 19-run margin of victory tied the single game records for both set, coincidentally, in another 28-9 victory nearly 10 full seasons ago at home vs. Hawai'i Hilo (3/28/09). Meanwhile, the 37 combined runs scored were tied for second-most in the program's NCAA era.
    DSU also combined to score 68 total runs in the four-game set, which eclipsed the previous record of 52 set nearly 10 years ago to the weekend in a four-game sweep of Academy of Art (3/16-17/09). Clifford and Fisher led the Blazers with nine runs scored apiece, while seven DSU base runners collected at least five runs scored overall in the series.

TEAM NOTES
* - Pritchard (.361/3 HR/18 RBI) has been a run-scoring machine for the Trailblazers as hit crossed home plate 35 times over his last 26 games, including a team-high eight runs scored in the CSUP series and six more runs last week at Mines ... Pritchard's team-leading 44 runs scored currently ranks him second in the RMAC.
* - Junior C Cade Spurlin (.388/5 HR/23 RBI) hit safely in all four games at Mines and pushed current hit streak to five games overall ... Spurlin batted .417 (5-for-12) against Mines pitching with a pair of doubles and a co-team high four RBI ... the junior is batting .379 (22-for-58) in RMAC play this season (19 games) and has driven in 16 of his 23 RBI and hit three of his five HRs on the season against league opponents ... Spurlin has hit safely in 21 of his last 27 games and is batting .397 over that stretch with 10 multi-hit games.
* - Junior OF Jake Brown (.327/2 HR/12 RBI) hit an even .500 (5-for-10) in four games (three starts) at Mines with two RBI and three runs scored ... senior OF/UT Brody Clifford (.309/6 HR/26 RBI) drove in four runs thanks to a pair of doubles in DSU's G1 win at Mines last Friday.
* - Senior RHP Jayden Murray (7-2/2.91 ERA/60 K) won for the seventh time in nine starts in the opener at Mines last Friday night as he punched out six and scattered three runs and five hits in 5.0 IP in DSU's 11-7 win.
* - Murray has struck out seven or more batters in four of his last five starts, including eight Ks vs. CSUP (3/29), and eight strikeouts in a complete-game five-hitter in the series-opener vs. UCCS (3/16) ... Murray's 9IP CG was the first by a DSU pitcher since former Blazer southpaw Matt Mosca went the distance on the road at Concordia-Irvine (W, 8-1, 4/26/18), and it was the first at home since former Blazer RHP Mason Hilty (11-0/4/7/17) posted a complete-game shutout vs. Academy of Art during the 2017 season.
* - Murray fanned a career-high 10 and surrendered two earned runs (four total) and seven hits in 5.0 IP to earn the decision in G2 at ASU (3/9) ... Murray's 10 strikeouts were the most by a DSU pitcher since former DSU hurler and current Milwaukee Brewer farmhand Dylan File struck out 11 in a complete-game three-hit shutout win over MSUB (2/24/17) during the 2017 season.
* - Murray enters his series opening start at MSUD on Friday as DSU's career-   leader in K/9IP (8.13) and is currently third in fewest career BB/9IP (1.99) ... Murray enters this weekend currently first on the season K/9IP (10.25) list and second in fewest BB/9IP (1.19).
* - Junior closer Brayden Bonner (2-0/2.70 ERA/24 K) will make his first start of the season in G2 at MSU Denver on Saturday ... the righthander made one appearance at Mines (G4) and pitched 2.1 innings of two-hit shutout relief with four strikeouts ... Bonner picked up his second victory of the season in the finale at NMHU (3/24) after he tossed two innings of two-hit relief, allowing just one unearned run with two strikeouts ... Bonner collected his team-high seventh save (7-for-7 in save opportunities) in G3 vs. UCCS (3/17) ... Bonner's seven saves already ranks him t-ninth on DSU's NCAA-era single save list and eighth in career saves.  
* - Sophomore LHP Jack Gonzales (5-0/3.52 ERA/28 K), who will start G3 at MSUD on Saturday, suffered his first loss of the season in G2 at Mines last Saturday ... the southpaw earned his fifth win of the year in game three at NMHU (3/23) after he fired six innings of four-hit baseball and allowed just one run and struck out a career-high eight in the Trailblazers' 12-1 victory ... Gonzales leads all DSU SPs with a .216 OBA.
* - DSU enters the week as the RMAC leader in batting (.337), hits/game (11.5 hpg), RBI (273) and runs/game (9.1 rpg) ... in fact, the Blazers are ranked in the league's top-three in virtually every major offensive statistical category.
* - DSU is also third in the RMAC in stolen bases (51-for-63), which includes an impressive 31-for-37 in 20 RMAC games (13-of-13 at ASU).
* - Meanwhile the Trailblazer pitching staff owns a 5.65 team ERA heading into this weekend's series at MSU Denver ... DSU pitchers have held opposing hitters to a .279 average through 34 games this season overall and have combined for 255 strikeouts in 277.0 IP.

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State opens an eight-game homestand next weekend with a four-game series vs. Regis on Easter Weekend, April 18-20, at Bruce Hurst Field.